The lament of Universe 13
by Lukashi
Summary: Goku questions Zeno on any other Universes and receives a tale from the Grand Priest of Zeno's favorite Universe. Learn the sad tale of Universe 13 and it's fate. M for swearing, potential gore and possible lemons.
1. Universe 13's Beginning

**Disclaimer** : ** **I don't own Dragonball Z****

"Hey Zen-chan! I was wondering, you've wiped out places before and I was wondering, is there any stories you wanna tell me of other universes? I'm real curious!" Goku said with a chipper tone, smiling wide at his friend who looked at his copy, both of them nodding. "Yeah! There was over one hundred! But, I did feel a little bad when I erased Universe thirteen, there were super nice and crazy strong people there." Zeno replied, smiling at Goku who quickly sat down, eager to listen as the Grand Priest approached. "Actually Zeno-Sama, may I tell Goku of Universe thirteen? I might be able to explain it a little better."

Zeno nodded and floated there as the Grand Priest looked over at Goku. "Right now there are twin Universes that mirror each other quite a bit, these actually used to be Triple Universes. Universe thirteen was the third Universe connected to your seven and six. Thirteen boasted some very powerful warriors I'm sure you would have loved to meet Goku. Anyway, sadly Zeno-Sama had to wipe it out due to their God of Destruction and Angel turning on everybody."

Goku frowned at that, unable to see Whis and Beerus doing the same. "That's horrible... what happened?" he asked, the Grand Priest smiling sadly. "The God and his Angel both tried to take over the other Universes through force, the Universe had to go. Turns out the same thing was prepared to happen in the others. But before we get that far. I'll explain from the start. Universe thirteen had a lot in common with yours Goku, except when Planet Hoshi died, their version of Planet Vegeta" he said at Goku's questioning look. "There were a couple of Saiyans that had survived but they were in different parts of their Universe. The two we'll focus on for now were called Ignis and Raziel."

 **Universe 13 (pre-erasure)**

"Raziel! You need to come eat dammit! Stop training for a while!" a male voice yelled out over the sound of explosions, hearing them stop immediately as a young male Saiyan landed in front of him. "Sorry old man, I finally got a few of those techniques down and I wanted to practice with em, you cooked this time? Or are we on Pizza again?" the saiyan asked with a laugh.

Raziel looked like your average Saiyan but with a rather obvious difference. Where regular Saiyan's had black hair, Raziel was blonde and where they had dark eyes, his were green. Raziel's regular appearance was that of the Legendary Super Saiyan form that was only ever achieved through those with Royal blood, or so history was viewed. He was simply born with a genetic deformity that altered his appearance. Raziel was always a bit of a black sheep to the royals due to that but he never let it bother him, more bothered about training and getting stronger more than anything. That was a mentality shared by another Saiyan named Ignis. Ignis was his best friend although the two hadn't seen each other for over seven years after being sent to different planets. Funnily enough Raziel was sent to destroy Earth but he loved the planet too much and decided to become one of it's protectors.

"I cooked, come on inside and we can-" he started before cutting off as he saw something appear in the sky. There was a very large metal ball flying down to the ground and was currently covered in flames due to it entering at such high speeds. "Old man move!" Raziel yelled, flying forwards and tackling the man, getting him well out of the way just before the ball hit where he was standing, dust and debris flying upwards from the collision.

"That ball... wait, it can't be another Saiyan." he whispered, standing up and watching the dust settle and he paled upon realising it really was another Saiyan spaceship. He grit his teeth and watched as the door to the ship was flung off of it, seeing it fly into a large boulder a few feet away. "Shit, I bet the boss is wondering why Earth isn't killed." Raziel growled, the old man he was with not looking very surprised as Raziel had been very forward with his orders. As the dust fully settled, Raziel watched a figure step out of the ship and make their way over to him slowly, his eyes widening at who it was.

"Holy crap, Ignis!" Raziel gasped, his eyes wide as his friend walked over to him, although the angry look in his eyes worried him. "You were meant to wipe out all life! Why the hell are these ants still roaming around?!" he yelled, his eyes blazing with fury. Ignis was furious at Raziel not performing his duty, and then it hit him. "You've turned native!"

Raziel grimaced and nodded, settling into a fighting stance. "Yeah, I have. And if you've come to kill them... I'll have to stop you. Friend or not." Raziel replied, staring Ignis down with narrowed eyes. Ignis smirked and slipped into his own, tossing away his scouter since it would just be in the way, this much the two had deduced over their fights. "Should you win, I'll leave and you can live in peace until another one of us arrives, but if you lose... I'll destroy this worthless rock and just head home and use your corpse as a fucking footstool."

The two stared each other down before Raziel motioned for them to move, flying off and Ignis gave chase. "I gotta admit, you want nobody to be hurt? That's adorable. You do realise when you're dead that they're going to end up in the same position right Raziel?" Ignis chuckled, the two of them landing in a large clearing after a few minutes. "Alright, this is it. Ignis, we may be partners but if you're going to hurt all the innocents on Earth then I'll have to kill you."

Raziel stared down his old friend and settled into his fighting stance, Ignis mirroring him. "You'll die trying." The two warriors held each others gaze for a few moments before flying forwards with huge bursts of speed, their fists clashing and sending up a shock-wave of energy from the point of impact. The pair began trading blows quicker than most people would be able to see, their fists practically dissapearing with the speed of their strikes and the same began happening with their kicks, soon both fighters were simply creating shock-waves with each clash, dashing around the area as fist met fist and leg met leg.

After several minutes Ignis slipped up and overextended on a strike, missing Raziel who crouched slightly and delivered a vicious uppercut to his fellow Saiyan's chin, launching him into the air and he followed up by jumping and landing three powerful blows to his chest before flipping himself over and slamming his heel into Ignis's chest, launching him back to the ground and holding out one hand, firing a yellow beam towards Ignis.

The young Saiyan spun off the ground however and slapped the beam away, thrusting his other hand forwards. "Destruction blast!" The wave of explosive power hit Raziel head on and he got launched back quite a distance, allowing Ignis to build up the energy for another attack. The saiyan held his hands out behind him while charging his energy, feeling it build up in both his palms and he brought them forwards into a hard clap, releasing a wave of energy that flew towards Raziel who had just gotten back up. "Ozaru Wave!" The energy glowed a bright blue as it flew at Raziel who growled and placed his hands at his right side, building up a large amount of energy.

"Kamehameha!" He shot the blue energy forwards, meeting the large wave in a struggle which after a few moments, the Kamehameha began to overpower, frustrating Ignis who flew above the wave and fired a large volley of Ki blasts at Raziel, forcing him to end the beam and try flying out of range. Ignis followed him, his hand radiating with energy before he placed them together by his right side, channeling his Ki between them. "Take this Raziel!" he yelled, thrusting forwards a large blue beam that hit Raziel dead on.

Raziel was launched back with a cry of pain as Ignis chased him in the air, his ki bursting off him in waves and he raised an arm as he flew, pointing it to Raziel and firing off a few large yellow Ki blasts. The Ki blasts never landed as the Saiyan recovered and batted them away, managing to land safely and he flung his arms behind him while charging his Ki, growling as he thrust them forwards so the heel's of his palms met. "Take this! Final Redemption!" With that a huge beam of Purple energy shot out at Ignis who was hit dead on, screaming in pain at the attack he was not expecting. The beam kept contact with him for about thirty seconds, damaging him quite a lot but upon hitting the ground he shot back up, in clear agony but flew back into the air, glaring at Raziel. "You're DEAD!"

"Ignis STOP! Let's end this with one attack!" Raziel called out, his eyes narrowed as he stared down his ex partner. Ignis considered this, stopping and floating to the ground slowly. "Fine. Let's see who's attack is the winning blow." he replied, he two a fair distance away. Ignis's Armour was utterly destroyed, leaving him in just his pants while Raziel's shirt was in tatters on his body along with missing a pant leg.

Raziel placed his hands to his right side in a ball shape as if he was going to be charging up his Kamehameha wave, but he pulled his left hand away as a ball of Golden energy appeared. His left hand then began to charge up a second ball of a blue colour. His right hand focused heavier Ki which slowly began to take the shape of a Golden Dragons head while the blue ball charged up a Blue Dragon head. "This is my strongest attack Ignis. I can't guarantee you'll be alive after this. It's your last chance to give up before you die." Raziel said, giving one final Opportunity to his friend to stop. It fell on deaf ears however as Ignis began preparing his own attack.

Raziel sighed and stared him down as the dragon heads began turning into miniature dragons that coiled around his arms, he then slowly brought his hands forwards, making them meet as if he was going to perform his Final Redemption. However now the dragons coiled around his hands began fusing, slowly forming into a Silver Dragon head that began to grow in size.

Ignis took in a breath and roared as he began to charge up his Ki, bringing it up into a large blue Aura around him that began climbing up higher and higher and released a few waves of power that crushed the ground around him, both his hands charging up a huge amount of ki that he combined into one large ball, smirking at Raziel. "I hope you're ready, this won't end well for you." Ignis then slammed the ball into the ground, making several large pillars of Ki rise up around him before pointing a hand out with his palm facing Raziel, smirking. "Pillars of Saiyan Pride!"

Raziel roared out and fired his attack off. "Dragon King's Flash!" The silver head shot out and began forming a huge silver Dragon that was quickly growing in size as Ignis finished off his attack, firing out a beam that impacted one of the five pillars and upon hitting it several more beams branched out and impacted the rest, sending a total of fifteen large blue beams at Raziel's dragon. The impact was tremendous and began breaking apart the ground in the surrounding area, waves of Ki and force flying off the meeting of the two attacks but as quickly as they began, they stopped. The dragon absorbed all the Ki of Ignis's beams and the violent Saiyan was quickly overwhelmed by the technique and was forced down onto the ground before the dragon clamped down his teeth and held Ignis tight, dragging him through the floor before finally stopping as it impacted a small mountain, bringing it down on Ignis who barely got out of it alive, although he was in no condition to fight.

"Dammit... he beat me..." he coughed out, blood splattering the ground next to him as he tried to sit up. He was in pure agony and there was no way he'd survive another hit, sighing as Raziel landed in front of him. "Ignis. Do you give up?" he asked, walking over to the downed Saiyan. Ignis just laughed at him and smiled. "You've gotten stronger. I'm glad I did this little test" he replied, grimacing. "You fucked me up bad man, were you actually trying to kill me?" He looked up at Raziel who now looked very confused.

"You were going to try and destroy the Earth! it's my home now!" he shot back, Ignis laughing harder. "I was never gonna destroy it. I'm out of the whole Planet Selling Business. In fact... the whole race is out of any business..." he said softly, looking down. "Raziel, Hoshi was destroyed. And I don't think there were any survivors. I came here to make sure yo were still alive and... I needed to get my anger out before I lost it..." he whispered, shaking as tears began to fall. In the many years that Raziel knew Ignis, he'd never once cried. He knew now he was telling the truth. "Ignis... come on, I'll go get someone to heal you up"

Raziel hoisted Ignis over his shoulder and flew into the air, carrying him to a healer he trusted more than any other. One thing was for sure though, this was only the start of their story.

 **Elsewhere on Planet Earth**

It was dark, he was in pain and he felt something wet hitting his face quickly. His body burned with each movement he made and protested every minor twitch he performed. He had to get up though, he had no choice. He had to try and find the Saiyan who landed here, he needed to ensure he wasn't the last one. But his mind kept going back to that moment, the moment he realised the weakness of his race.

" _My king! We have to fight back! If we don't we'll be slaughtered! Just please see reason!" He begged, his hands clenched into fists as he stared down the King of all Saiyans. "Maalik. You are a fool. Why would they dare attack us on our home turf? We are the most powerful race in the Universe! Begone from my sight lest I have you killed for questioning me!" the King shot back, raising his hand in a sign of dismissal._

 _"You'd really put our people in danger because of your own arrogance? You... you're pathetic!" Maalik roared, his anger shooting to heights it had never before reached. His hair burst into colour from black to a powerful gold, his ki flowing around him as he screamed out his rage at the King. All the saiyans around him then leapt forwards in an attempt to subdue the raging Saiyan. But Maalik was gone, all that was left was a vengeful Saiyan prepared to kill the man who was going to lead them to ruin._

 _"If we're going to die... then you will die BY MY HAND! PREPARE YOURSELF!"_

"He let us all go to our deaths... he led us to believe we were superior but was I the only one who realised how weak we can be? No. I'm not weak. I'm mighty! And I'll be damned if the Saiyans will be remembered as a Trash race." He grity his teeth and with newfound strength he stood up, his eyes turning green as his hair returned to that beautiful gold. "I am Maalik... and I'm the Super Saiyan above ALL!"


	2. Time for Change

**Disclaimer** : **I don't own Dragonball Z. ALSO, im sorry it's taken so long to update, honestly I've been losing my touch on fanfic making, I've probably re-written this whole thing nearly 100 times, I'm struggling to get the desire to come on and actually make chapters, but I'm trying so please be patient with me everybody! It was going to be a very short chapter but I've added more in for all you lovely people, characters will be getting boosts and some will be OOC somewhat but I'm doing my best to make them the best they can be!**

Ignis grimaced as the healer worked on him, fixing up the more superficial injuries he had as the internal ones they were sure would be taking some time to heal. The young Saiyan was lay on a bed, the healer cleaning up cuts and placing cold towels on his bruising to help reduce the inflammations so they healed a little quicker. The other Saiyan Raziel was sat on a chair nearby, looking at Ignis with a frown. "Alright Ignis, I think you owe me an explanation"

Ignis nodded as best he could, moving himself up into a seated position as he began speaking. "Alright, well from what I know, somebody killed the King, beat him in single combat and then escaped the planet, the next day two aliens turned up not long after I arrived back from one of my Missions and the next thing I know I'm seeing our Saiyan brethren just dropping like flies... they were annihilated. I managed to find a pod that hadn't been used for an escape and fired myself off with random coordinates. Then after landing on a planet I took a while to mourn everybody that had died. I then set to training so I could protect anybody else from dying. I can see you did the same." he explained, smiling at Raziel who had his eyes shut in thought.

"Alright..." Raziel spoke after a long moment, looking at the other male. "Well. Obviously we're going to find out who the two bastards were and kill them ourselves. But in the meantime you need to finish healing." He then got up and left the room, leaving Ignis alone with his thoughts.

"Where do we even start..." he sighed, shaking his head and relaxing so he could heal. He didn't know that Raziel was currently heading off to see if a special pill that one of his dear friends made would be ready. The pill allowed a warrior to heal from any injury no matter how severe as long as they were able to at least swallow it.

* * *

"Hey wait a minute! That's just like the Senzu beans in my Universe!" Goku exclaimed, pausing the Grand Priests tale for a minute. "That's right Goku, this universe was more medically capable than your own. These pills were designed by somebody similar to that Bulma lady in your Universe, however the one in Universe 13 was a genius in the medical field. Her husband was the one who worked with machines." the Grand Priest said, smiling. "May I continue?"

Goku just nodded quickly and smiled wide. He was liking the sound of these Saiyans already and couldn't wait to hear more about them.

* * *

"Hey Kana, you all done with the pill yet?" Raziel asked as he stepped into the office of Kana Izuko, his closest friend on Planet Earth after he arrived. He wasn't however expecting her to launch a steel chair at him, the piece of furniture hitting him square in the face and knocking him over. "YOU CHEEKY SHIT! YOU CALL ME UP ONE HOUR AGO AND ASK ME TO MAKE ANOTHER ONE FOR SOMEONE WHEN YOU KNOW I'VE GOT VIRTUALLY NO SUPPLIES AND HAVE THE BALLS TO ASK IF IT'S READY!? YOU'RE LUCKY I DON'T KILL YOU!" Raziel groaned and stood, rubbing his face which was bright red from the point of impact.

"I'll admit my timing is not exactly great but I honestly thought you had supplies! I didn't rea-" Another chair hit him in the middle of his reply. "I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! YOU OWE ME SUPPLIES!" The woman roared, crossing her arms as she stared at him. Kana was a slim woman who looked to be in her early forties with long red hair and had one hell of a scowl on her face directed at Raziel.

"O-okay! I'll get you some I promise!" he squealed, shaking a little bit and looking absolutely terrified. "Hmph. You're goddamn right you will. You don't have a choice if you want more. Now, care to explain why there's another SAIYAN here? I thought you were the last one. As far as YOU were concerned there wasn't any other Saiyan's alive. Or was that a lie so you felt special?"

"No it wasn't a lie! My planet was destroyed I told you that, I just didn't realise my friend was still alive, I swear I told you the truth!" Raziel explained, Kana staring at him for a few moments before sighing. "Alright I believe you. Anyway, come back in an hour and I'll have it done. Seriously though, you can't be doing this anymore. I'll limit how much you can get them now."

He looked down at that but nodded, accepting that his laid back attitude to her efforts was definitely not the best thing to do. "Okay, I'll come back in an hour then" He then went out and decided he'd go off to train.

* * *

Ignis took in a few breaths as he stood up, his body still very sore but in all honesty he was feeling better than he normally did, chuckling a bit to himself. "Guess I did get a Zenkai boost off that. Christ, he did nearly kill me in all honesty..." the Saiyan groaned, rubbing his chest a bit. He was getting better, obviously it would take a few days for him to recover so in the meantime he figured he'd take things slow, let his body repair itself but still getting light training in of another kind.

"Alright, they mentioned a waterfall nearby, I can use that." Ignis began walking slowly, taking his time so he didn't aggravate any of his wounds. He made his way out of the healers building and slowly walked to the location of the waterfall, heading through a large cave system that he'd been made aware of. Now, Ignis was one of the few types of Saiyans that was not a fan of war. The Saiyans had been at war for years with the Tuffles who they managed to fend off during the nights due to them becoming great apes but they struggled during the day, at least until the Tuffles were all but wiped out. Due to the amount of blooodshed that was caused he gained a hate for battle, he only fought to get stronger so he could better protect people, his strength was not used to invade or fight other people for selfish means.

He soon found himself at the waterfall, smiling. The waterfall was one of the nice things about the area, but the main thing was the way it looked like it's own little Oasis. There was a small lake where the waterfall ended, surrounded by a small field of flowers and had a fair bunch of small animals sat in trees and bushes, sopme even approached him. This is exactly the kind of place he needed to train so he stripped down to just the boxer shorts he wore, taking in a deep breath and he stepped under the waterfall, the heavy water crashing down on him and covering him head to toe.

Ignis breathed out as he channelled his Ki, covering his body in it zand began to push against the water, attempting to keep it aay from his body by only the smallest of margins. This was a Ki control exercise he was trying to master, the longer he could keep the water away, the more Ki he would have at the end of it. So far the longest he could do was twenty minutes before the water fought back enough against his weakened energy.

It was this sight that Raziel found himself coming to when he found out where Ignis was, watching as the male practically pulsed with Ki. Ignis had been going for thirty mninutes now and seemed to be faltering, his teeth grit and his eyes narrowed. "Come on... just a bit more!" he growled out, tensing up as he tried to keep his Ki up for just a little longer. Raziel then narrowed his eyes as he saw a yellow tint begin to show up in the aura of Ki Ignis was using, slowly growing in size before dissapearing as Ignis collapsed, panting hard under the water. He pulled himself out from under it and Raziel ran over, helping him up.

"What the hell were you doing man? That could have ended bad if I hadn't turned up!" he reprimanded Ignis, the male just shaking his head and chuckling. "I'd have been fine, don't worry I've been doing this for ages now." Ignis replied, slowly standing up. "It's just to help me build my KI levels, I don't want to get too weak in a battle and even though I train the shit out of my body I sitll need to build up the strength and levels of my Ki, it's a mental and Physical combination after all."

Raziel just shook his head. "You're a nutcase, don't do it alone anymore understand? We're training together from now on. So you wanna train? You do it with me." Ignis just sighed and nodded, slowly stretching himself out and clenching then unclenching his fists. "I feel pretty good all things considered, lasted a little longer than last time." Raziel just sighed and cracked his back, stretching as well. "Okay, well anyway, my friend is finishing up a pill to fix you up properly, we'll go get it since it's going to be ready in about ten minutes, come on."

Ignis was rather surprised such a thing existed but didn't question it, simply following Raziel as he led him out of the cave, the two quickly surging their Ki to enable flight and they made their way to her home.

* * *

"Oh, I'm afraid I must go Goku, Lord Zeno has things he must do and as you are aware I accompany him everywhere, if you would like I can leave you a book which details everything that happened with the Universe, I'm sure you would enjoy it either way." The Grand Priest offered, Goku nodding and after a moment a book appeared in the Priests hands. It was a golden book with the Words 'Universe Thirteen' on the front. "Thanks Grand Priest! Maybe I'll learn something from this too, could be interesting!" Goku gave a smile which the Grand Priest returned, both Zeno's coming over to Goku and grabbing his hands, Goku shaking them up a little with a laugh. "I'll see you guys around okay? Come visit me whenever you feel lonely!"

"Okay Goku!/ You got it Goku!" both Zeno's said at the same time before they let go and grab the Grand Priests hands, all of them vanishing from sight and leaving Goku alone. "Alright! Time to head home! I think I'll cook tonight instead of Chichi, she deserves a break." he mumbled, placing two fingers to his head and focusing on Gohan's Ki allowed him to teleport, using his infamous instant transmission to reappear next to his oldest son. "Hey Gohan!" Said Hybrid Saiyan fell out of his chair with a yell when Goku spoke, chuckling afterwards.

"Man dad you surprised me! Mum's out right now, think she's doing some shopping. You not out training?" Gohan asked, giving his father a kind smile and getting back into his chair. "Nope! I'm gonna cook tonight! We don't have to eat for another two hours so I'm gonna go get started, I think I'll make something filling for us guys but Chichi appreciates something smaller. I caught a giant fish earlier so we can have that. I'll make Chichi a chicken dish, she loves chicken!"

Gohan was stunned that his dad of all people was willing to do this. Being the trainaholic that he was he figured he'd just be off with King Kai or training alone, but it looked like for at least one day he was going to be a proper family man. "Let me help dad, somebody has to make sure you're not going to set fire to the house right?" the younger male teased, smiling at Goku who nodded.

It was about an hour before Chichi came home, sighing a little bit as she shut the door with a loud thud. "Gohan sweetie I'm home! I take it your father is out training again?" she called out, giggling a little to herself as she walked towards the kitchen with a few little bits of food shopping she'd gotten only for her jaw to drop at the sight before her.

Goku was stood their shirtless, cutting up some chicken with care that she never saw on him outside of a training session with Goten and Gohan, Gohan was dancing a little bit and having a laugh with Goku while he cut the chicken, Gohan himself currently grilling some fish for him, Goku and Goten. "So Gohan, how's work been going?" Goku asked, not having heard Chichi, same as Gohan. "It's going well, I actually get to work at home now so I can provide for Videl and Pan and also have time to train. In fact, Mum has been training with me recently, even Goten! I think he wants to be more like you dad." Gohan replied, handing Goku some vegetables which the male cut incredibly fast, setting them aside in a bowl so he had a salad for Chichi.

"G-Goku's... c-cooking?" Chichi mumbled, absolutely dumbfounded, her voice snapped the two males out of what they were doing, both of them giving an identical little wave to her. "Hey mum!/Hey Chichi!" She stood there for a moment in surprise before snapping out of it and took everything over. "Goku? Why aren't you out training?" she asked, curious why her battle crazed husband wasn't off trying to strengthen himself. It was one of the many things she did love about him after all, plus she had to admit it was nice seeing him be a family man when he was home.

"I wanted to cook for you tonight Chichi. You work so hard for the family, everything you've done for the boys when I've not been here, the way you've kept the family together. You deserved time off. I want you to relax tonight okay? No work, just relax and let me do everything." he said, smiling and gently kissing her on the forehead. She blushed brightly at that and gave him a sweet smile, butterflies in her stomach. She felt like a little kid again near him, yet another feeling she got often just when he smiled at her. "Okay Goku, thank you, I appreciate it." For tonight, the Son family would be sat together in full, bonding like they truly needed to for a while. heir family bond may have been a little strained but Goku was adamant on fixing that, when he fought in the Tournament of power it wasn't for himself, he fought for his family. His family and his friends gave him strength but one thing was always in the back of his mind, he didn't want to lose what he had craved for so long, it was an eye-opener for him, his family was his strength and he'd keep that bond strong for as long as he could.

 _ **Meanwhile, Kame House**_

"Master Roshi. Thank you for training me again, I needed the extra discipline." Tien said, bowing politely to Roshi who simply laughed and shook his head. "Nonsense Tien, you don't need to thank me, it's my job to help out my students when they feel they need guidance or just someone to talk to. Even if you need trainign even though you've far surpassed me!" the older male replied with a big smile.

"Master. I'm going to go to the Divine Crossing and pray to Master Mutaito's statue, he also helped me when I needed it and I owe him to go and pray at the very least." Tien explained, smiling and he began to float. "Thank you again Master. I'll come and visit you again soon. Drop by the Crane school and I'll make sure you're given a proper reception." Roshi nodded, waving as Tien flew to the Divine Crossing.

* * *

The Divine Crossing was a rather beautiful crystal formed place that Tien was sure housed spirits of pepole who had been there bfore and passed away. He remembered their being a religion that held it in high regard and saw it as a place of true divinity. Tien was one of those few after Mutaito revealed himself to him and helped him defeat the evil flame that was sealed under his statue. "I wonder if he'll speak to me again... well, I guess I'll find out." he said to himself, walking through the paths of Crystal until he was eventually face to face with the large statue of the Martial Arts Master.

He knelt in front of the statue and clasped his hands together, closing his eyes. "Master. I thank you for the help you gave me those years ago, without your assistance I couldn't have saved my friend and I wouldn't have gained strength I never knew I had before. I have since then mastered my Crane Martial arts and even my teacher Muten Roshi, your old student, has said I have even mastered the Kame Style." Tien said, smiling softly. "I became at peace with myself, at least I believe I have. I'm just unsure what to do next... the Universe almost got wiped out but my friend Goku saved us all along with his worst enemy. I never thought I'd be able to look at Goku as a friend when I first came here, but I realised I was wrong to look at him as something to crush. I have been very lucky to have gotten to know him and become the man I have."

Tien laughed a little bit and thought back to all the good moments and battles the Z Fighter's had gone through up to that point. "We rely on him for a lot, I want to be the kind of ally though he can leave things to. Somebody he can rely on to keep things safe when he can't." He sighed softly and stood up, dusting of his Gi. "Sorry for bothering you Master Mutaito. I'll allow you to rest in peace." As Tien turned to leave however he heard a cracking sound, turning back to the statue and he saw a very large crack down the centre before it quite literally exploded in front of him, he didn't budge however, simply raising his arms to block some of the debris.

After the debris and dust settled his eyes widened, seeing the form of Mutaito himself stood there, flexing his hands. "Ah, wonderful. I finally managed to gather enough energy from the Crystals nearby to take my form. It's all thanks to you Tien for destroying the evil Flame those years ago, it was in fact limiting my strength since I was trying to simply keep it contained. Now I'm free to go and kill all other martial artists." he said calmly, smirking.

"What do you mean kill all other Martial Artists?! Master why would you want to do that?" Tien exclaimed, his face displaying horror that someone he heavily respected would do somethign so cruel. "Simple Tien. I wish to be the only fighter left on this earth so I can take it over. And you will be my first victim!" With that, Mutaito dashed forwards at speeds Tien never would have expected from somebody so old and he slammed his fist against Tien's arms which the Triclops had raised to block the attack, the crystals around them cracking due to the impact.

" _Good. It's as I expected."_ Mutaito thought, starting to trade blow after blow with Tien who blocked the strikes easily and began using his speed advantage in striking to get a few glancing blows on the Master before him. Tien quickly realised something about Mutaito, his eyes narrowing in focus. " _He hits hard but he definitely doesn't strike as quickly as me, but he's fully expecting me to only land glancing blows as they start opening me up. I need to stop using the Crane style or I'll lose. But what if he also knows the Kame style? Guess I'll just have to risk it and mix them both."_ he thought, jumping back and he quickly settled into the Kame Style stance, waiting patiently for Mutaito to advance.

"Switching styles won't work on a Master Martial Artist boy! You need to learn to not underestimate opponents!" Mutaito called out before dashing in and swinging his right fist, aiming for Tien's face. At least that's what the three eyed male thought as Mutaito instead dropped low and swept his feet from under him with a very quick leg sweep, spinning around and slamming his elbow into Tien's stomach and winding him. Tien was sure he saw a bit of blood fly out his mouth at the hit and before Mutaito could follow up he rolled backwards, jumping to his feet and he rocketed forwards, pummeling Mutaito with a variety of Kame style strikes that disoriented him then decided to follow it up with one of his favourite techniques, placing both his hands to the sides of his head as Mutaito looked at him. "SOLAR FLARE!"

Mutaito cried out in surprise and pain as he was blinded, allowing Tien to press his immediate advantage. The male began pummeling Mutaito as quickly as he could, striking him with startling accuracy and efficiency, each strike slamming in with incredible force. Tien's face however was not twisted into anger like many would expect in this situation, it was twisted into a mask of sorrow for the fallen master. "Master, I cannot allow you to do this. I can't let you kill Martial Artists for such a selfish goal. We both know I don't have it in me to kill you. And I can't seal you away with the Mafuba since I have no container. That means I will simply have to commit my life to preventing you from escaping the Divine Crossing." he said, grasping the upper half of his GI and he tossed it aside, leaving him shirtless.

"Master. I will not allow you to harm anyone for as long as my life can last. I forfeit my future here and now to stop you!" Mutaito stared at Tien as his vision came back slowly, an almost unnoticable smile on his wrinkled face. " _He's almost there. I just need to test if he truly believes what he says."_ It was at that moment that Tien felt slightly woozy, shaking the feeling off. "That was odd..." He then paled as he heard a familiar voice, glancing behind him as he saw Chiaotzu running up to him.

"Lovely! Someone I can siphon energy off! You're mine child!" Mutaito laughed, holding his hands out in front of him, palms facing the small boy and Chiaotzu flew towards him, Tien barely missing the chance to grab him and watche in horror as Mutaito held the boy who struggled valiantly before watching as Chiaotzu stilled in Mutaito's grip, his skin beginning to darken and his body soon went limp before being tossed to the side. Mutaito's body also seemed to grow younger, his body gaining more muscle definiteion and Tien could feel the strength radiating off of him.

"No... CHIAOTZU!" Tien roared, anger filling his veins as he rushed the now younger looking Mutaito. "YOU KILLED CHIAOTZU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Tien's attacks had changed. Gone was the calm and focused attacks of a Martial Arts Master. Now they were attacks by a vengeful friend and Master. His strikes were damaging enough to almost crack the air itself, each one causing large jolts of pain to race through Mutaito's arms and legs when he blocked.

" _Yes, he's almost there. Just one last push..."_ Mutaito grinned at Tien and caught both his hands. "Would you give your soul just to have the power to kill me? Even if it meant that you would die immediately after?" Mutaito asked, gritting his teeth as Tien kicked him in the chest hard enough to launch him into a large wall of Crystal.

"I don't need to do that. This attack might very well kill me but to avenge my friend and stop you from killing everyone, then it'll be worth it. Noe one life is worth more than another!" he growled out, breathign in slowly and he took a small moment to calm himself before crossing his arms, three copies of himself forming.

"I'll kill you here and now, I'll protect everyone with all the strength I can muster." They all placed their hands in a triangle shape in front of them, starting to build up Ki. "This will kill you Mutaito. You may be a Martial Arts Master, but I'm a protector of Earth. I can't let you beat me knowing your intent is to kill all Martial Artists for your own selfish, evil reasons. It's dissapointing to know you arent the man I thought you were. Farewell." He then widened his eyes and called out with a deep and powerful voice. "NEO-TRI BEAM!"

He and his copieas began immediately pelting Mutaito with a barrage of powerful Ki blasts, each one pressing him down into the Crystals he was stood on and giving him no chance to respond. Tien could already feel weaker than he would normally be in this situation but he powered through it, sweat pouring down his brow as his clones began to move back into him to replenish his strength. Mutaito was soon stuck in a crater about the same size as the one the Evil Flame was sealed in. "Perfect. now for the finisher." Tien whispered, knowing this next move would guarantee his death.

"MAFUBA!" He thrust two hands forwards and began the technique, grabbing hold of Mutaito with his Ki and began to slowly seal him away, feeling his life energy slowly slip away until Mutaito was fully sealed, a large crystal now where the crater is. "There... it's over.." he whispered, drpping to his knees and blacking out. At least only for a moment before light came back and he found himself stood there in front of Mutaito's... unbroken statue. "What in the world...?"

That's when Mutaito's spirit floated out of it, chuckling. "You passed my test young Tien. I must say you performed exactly as I expected. Don't worry, your friend is alive and well, no need to worry." he explained, Tien just looking very confused. "What do you mean test? You mean you-"

"No I wasn't going to kill everyone. Goodness me, I wouldn't be able to manage it even if I wanted to! No it was a test to see if you were finally ready. All these years I've waited for you to return, but I'm glad it was now. You're ready finally." Mutaito smiled, floating down in front of Tien. "You're ready to take your next step to bewcoming the man you're meant to be. Tien. Grasp my hand and close your eyes." The aged master said, holdig out his right hand for Tien to take. Tien took in a little breath and nodded, grabbing hold of Mutaito's hand, and then his world exploded into pain.

He screamed out in agony a Mutait's spirit entered him and he felt as if his body was on fire, but it passed as quickly as it happened. He flexed his hands and felt no different, but then his mind seemed to open as many different martial arts forms and styles flashed through him, each one filling him with knowledge he neve knew he had before, along with a boost in power that honestly terrified him. "What is this...?" he asked, looking at the statue.

"You're the new avatar of Martial arts my boy! I thought Roshi would be the one to surpass me, but it was you instead. You hold the body and teachings of a true master in the making. Make me proud boy!" The statue then shattered and Tien was left alone. "Incredible... I must go tell Master Roshi." Just as he went to move the sky turned dark, making him pale. "Somebody has the Dragonballs!"

* * *

In a clearing, completely void of life except for Shenron and the one who summoned him, a lone figure prepared to make their wish. "Shenron, first a question. Am I at my most powerful? Have I hit the peak of my strength?" they asked, Shenron shaking his head. "No, you have not tapped into your potential as of yet. I am unable to awaken it I am afraid, but should you make the wish I can send you to one who can. You have an amazing well of strength inside you that you need to be shown, do you desire this strength?"

The person nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I can't rely on them to protect me forever. I was a fighter and I was a decent one, I want to be able to stand on par with the others and be somebody they can rely on, not a joke or a liability! Shenron I wish to eet this person who can awaken my Hidden Potential!" Shenron nodded in response and smiled. "It shall be done. Your wish is granted, farewell." He then vanished form sight and the Dragonballs flew away as the lone figure vanished in a burst of red light. They then appeared on the planet of the Supreme Kai, right next to the Elder Kai.

"I see you're finally here. It took you to call Shenron to ask for help? Honestly. Well, I gues we better get this ritual underway. I'll need you to stay still Yamcha." he said, the male grinning wide.

"Understood!"


End file.
